Amid the stormy crises that threaten the stability of the basic pillars of the nation, the cabinet formation in Lebanon is facing an unprecedented deadlock.
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri was tasked on October 22, 2020, to form the new government as he had been nominated by 65 members of the parliament during the binding consultations held by President Michel Aoun.
Around 16 meeting were held between President Aoun and PM-designate Hariri in order to reach an agreement on the cabinet structure and lineup. However, the conflicting views continued blocking any breakthrough.
Hariri has insisted on choosing specialists to form an 18-member cabinet without granting a veto share to any party. Whereas, President Aoun considered that the number of ministers should be raised in order to take the fair distribution of the ministerial shares over the various parties.
A number of political initiatives have tried to find a common ground between the president and the prime minister-designate, yet all the attempts were fruitless.
During his latest speech on Tuesday, February 16, Hezbollah secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah addressed the governmental stalemate, suggesting a number of ideas which can lead to a breakthrough.
Sayyed Nasrallah maintained that all the Lebanese parties want the government to be formed, refuting the allegations which linked the stalemate to Iran nuclear file.
Holding all the parties responsible for the procrastination, Sayyed Nasrallah considered as unjustifiable Hariri’s insistence on keeping the number of ministers in his lineup draft at 18.
In this regard, Sayyed Nasrallah pointed out that forming the cabinet of 20 or 22 members can resolve the complications related to the share demands of the various political parties.
However, Sayyed Nasrallah said: “We understand the PM-designate insistence on having the interior portfolio and rejection of granting the one-third veto share to any single political party.”
Thus, the creation of the new government in Lebanon requires raising the number of ministers without granting a veto share to any political party in the context of mutual concessions.
If Taef Constitution stipulations fail to end the government stalemate, will the various political parties in Lebanon agree to discuss and approve major constitutional amendments?
Source: Al-Manar Eglish Website
